STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Expect a four-alarmer when Borough President James P. Molinaro holds a town hall meeting on Monday to call the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to task and demand a permanent solution to the East Shore’s chronic brush fire problem.

Molinaro and other elected officials have long brawled with the DEC, especially Region 2 director Suzanne Mattei, about the agency’s brush-fire policies.

“For too long, the DEC … has effectively denied homeowners the right to protect their property and lives from brush fires,” Molinaro said.

The meeting, to be held in conjunction with City Councilmen James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) and Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore), will take place at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 185 Cedar Grove Ave., from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Earlier this year, DEC would not allow the city to issue permits to homeowners so they could cut back phragmites near their homes and reduce the risk of fire.

The DEC relented only when U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) intervened and then appeared at a press conference with Island pols.

Molinaro said that the East Shore is home to many elderly residents, young families and a group home for the developmentally disabled, making the area particularly vulnerable when a brush fire breaks out.

“These people should not have to live their lives in fear,” Molinaro said. “It is absolutely unacceptable, and I want the DEC to know, in no uncertain terms, that we will not stand for this anymore.”

Molinaro said Ms. Mattei and other agency members have been invited to the meeting. It is not known if they will attend.

In addition to getting an earful about brush fires, DEC reps will also likely hear complaints from lawmakers, including Oddo, who have slammed the agency for scotching development projects here.

Oddo and others believe that the DEC is top-heavy with green “extremists” who consistently favor environmental concerns over sensible development proposals.

As if to highlight the Island’s brush-fire crisis, a large number of FDNY units responded to a brush fire in Richmond Valley this morning.

The blaze brought firefighters to the intersection of Amboy Road and Page Avenue, and it quickly spread through the brush in back of the grounds of Mount Loretto in Pleasant Plains.

The blaze was quickly extinguished and no structural damage nor any injuries were reported.